Today's guest post is from Lisa Hendey of Productivity at Home.
My children may think I'm the geekiest Mom around, but I just
received confirmation this morning that I'm perhaps a distant second
place in the geek category. My own quotient has risen greatly
this week since I'm anxiously awaiting my trip down to Ontario on
Friday for the fabulous Podcast and New Media Expo. It seems, however, that my good friend Cindy has edged me out of "Geekiest Mom" status. This morning, she shared with me her excitement over having registered for the Stitches West Conference.
Since Cindy is a Knitting Artist and Knit Blogger, Stitches West is
a must-attend professional development occasion. Cindy giddily
recounted for me the finer points of her conference registration
experience over coffee this morning at our knitting group. Today was
the opening of conference registration for an incredibly popular event
where all of the best seminars sell out quickly. Cindy tried to begin
registration at 7:00 am, but was met by jammed phone lines. By 7:30,
it was time for her to pile her three kids into the car to be delivered
to two different school locations. With her seventh grade son hitting
redial as she wove her way through traffic, Cindy finally managed to
connect with a customer service representative who took her
registration over the phone.
In my book, Cindy is off to a great start towards making her
conference experience a productive learning opportunity. Here's what
she's done right so far:
- Research conferences and find out the best band for your buck
- Investigate seminar offerings and prioritize course selections, choosing secondary options if your first picks aren't available
- Register for popular conferences on opening day to be certain you get your desired classes
- Network with other attendees and do your homework about course speakers who are tops in their fields
I'm looking forward to two full days of learning about Podcasting
and other new media forms this week and Cindy can't wait for February
to roll around. Two moms, both geeks, but at least we're
intellectually curious ones! For more tips on how to make the most of
your Conference experience, check out Top 10 Tips for Attending a Conference.
Resources for the Road
Learn from the Pro: Keith Ferrazzi on Networking